A pair of hooves wrapped firmly around Star's barrel, and she was yanked out of the water. As soon as she was able to breathe in air instead of water, she coughed out the bit she had inhaled with her lungs burning. Her hooves met the ground, and she sat down on her haunches to continue coughing.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," said the pony who had crashed into her. "I was trying out this one trick, but it turns out that the winds today are all completely out of whack..."
As Star caught her breath, she opened her eyes. The pony beside her was a pegasus with a light blue coat and rainbow mane, and her wings were twitching slightly. "I thought that only happened in cities," she said somewhat huskily.
"Well, it's more common in cities..." The pegasus shook her head, sending drops of water streaming off her mane. "That's besides the point. Are you okay? I mean, it's fine if I get hurt going tricks, but if I hurt anypony else I just feel really bad about it."
"Just... a little sore." She leaned forward slightly, letting her soaking wet mane cover her eyes. "And cold," she said softly.
"Oh, that's good! I mean, as in, like, compared to being, y'know, seriously injuried." She paused awkwardly. "Well, uh, anyways..." She stuck out her hoof with a grin. "I'm Rainbow Dash."
"Sparkler," replied Star, screaming mentally at herself as she lightly shook Rainbow's hoof. "But, uh, I also go by-"
"Miss Amethyst!" cried out Apple Bloom nervously, running up to her. "Are you okay?"
"Don't tell Applejack!" said Rainbow before Star could respond. "I don't want her to give me another lecture!"
Star raised an eyebrow in concern, but decide to let it go for the moment. "I'm fine, Apple Bloom. Just a bit wet." A droplet of water dripped off her snout.
"Ah can go get ya a towel!" said Apple Bloom innocently. "Ah'll be real quick about it and-"
"No," she interjected suddenly. "I just... need to be alone for a bit."
"Oh..." Her face fell.
Star sighed lightly. "It's nothing you did. I just need to be with myself for a while."
"Okay..." The filly started walking away quietly, before her ears perked up as she got an idea. "Ah know! Ah'll go get ya a treat from Sugarcube Corner! That should cheer you up!" She excitedly sprinted away. "Ah'll be right back!"
She gave a second sigh, and glanced over at Rainbow. "You should probably get back to work."
"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow laughed awkwardly. "Right." She jumped into the air and hovered in front of Star for a moment. "See you around, Sparky!"
"That's not-" Rainbow sped off. "-my... name..." Star sighed for a third time, and laid down with her hooves folded over each other. She flicked her tail away so that it could dry in the sun, and closed her eyes.
She opened her eyes. She was lying down on a puffy white cloud, the sun shining down on her back. Star smiled, and spread her wings wide. She could feel the wind on her feathers, and small droplets of water on her cheeks.
A cascade of water came crashing down on her, but Star did not sputter and cough. She laughed and looked up at the rain cloud above her, a pegasus mare beside it giggling. While she giggled, Star smirked and flew up to the other side of the cloud.
She spun around in the air and kicked the cloud firmly enough to move it, but not break it. The other pegasus reacted by trying to bust the cloud, resulting in all the remaining water spilling out all over her. Star giggled this time, with the other pegasus soon joining in.
After they finished laughing, the pegasus beach to fly off, motioning for Star to follow her. Star eagerly took off after her, but her wings became heavier with each flap. The pegasus in front of her soon disappeared from view, while Star struggled to stay in the air.
Her wings became too heavy to lift, and Star began to fall. She fruitlessly failed her limbs to try and stay up, but there was no hope. She fell through a cloud, her wings vanishing as she did. Her horn glowed brightly as she cried out for help, but no one came. She took in a strangled breath, and yelled as loudly as possible.
"HELP! PLEASE, SOMEPONY HE-"
Her eyes whirled open in alarm. Star exhaled sharply, pressing a hoof up against her forehead. The top of her hoof brushed up against the bottom curve of her horn, to which she gave no visible reaction.
"My goodness!" Star jumped to her hooves in surprise. "Darling, you look just terrible!"
She aimed an icy glare towards the unicorn with a white coat and fancy indigo mane that had walked up to her. "Gee, thanks," she said dryly.
"Why, of course it mustn't be your fault!" Her horn lit up in a royal blue glow and she tossled Star's mane. "I'm assuming you had a run in with Rainbow Dash?"
She gave a slight nod. "It doesn't really matter."
The unicorn gasped dramatically. "Proper hair care always matters, dear!" She grabbed Star's forehoof in her magic. "Come! I will fix you right up!"
She resisted groaning and followed after the overly-eager unicorn. Her tail, heavy with water, dragged along the ground, but she didn't care enough to lift it up. A few ponies glanced over at her, but she ignored their stares.
"I haven't seen you around before," said the unicorn casually. "Did you just move here?"
"Technically." Moving implied that she had an official place to stay.
"Well, I'm sure you'll love our dear little town!" She probably smiled, but her face wasn't towards Star. "I'm Rarity."
This time she would get it right. "Amethyst."
"What a lovely name! The same color as your eyes." Somepony was perceptive. "Where are you from, Amethyst?"
Why did everypony need to know where she was from? "Way off."
"Oh, there's nothing to be ashamed of dear! But if you don't wish to tell, I won't press the matter." Rarity came to a stop, and Star nearly bumped into her. "Here we are! My beloved Carousel Boutique!" She opened the door to the large building with her magic, and walked inside. "Come right in, darling. I just need to grab a few things from upstairs."
Star walked into the boutique, and relaxed at the familiar setting of a clothing store. Rarity had several fancy and simple dresses on display, each completely different from the other. Gemstones adorned nearly every outfit, all of them sparkling clean. She noticed that a ruby brooch on one of the dresses was a bit lopsided, and naturally went over to fix it.
Her horn lit up with a soft aura, a matching glow washing over her eyes. She carefully poked at the ruby with her magic, as it had already been set in place, until it was perfectly aligned. There were some carnelians down the side of the dress, and she began making them all symmetrical to each other.
The rhythm was familiar, so much so that she even sat down. It made her think of home, back in Manehattan, and that comforted her. But, of course, she couldn't have a break. Thinking of Manehattan made her think of what happened. She couldn't stand to think of what happened. A tear slid down her cheek as she continued working out of habit.
"I'm back!" declared Rarity proudly, walking down the stairs with a large assortment of items held in her magic. "You'll be looking fabulous in no- Amethyst, what are you doing?"
The aura on her horn and eyes winked out. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just making them symmetrical. That sort of thing is- used to be my job."
"I do appreciate the sentiment, darling, but I would prefer if you ask first. These dresses do take quite a while to make just right!" She placed down the items she was holding. "Now, let me see what I can do with your mane..."